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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:54 pm
by matter2003
RobRegish wrote:Some FINE work here, AGAIN!

For those new to BP, this is where i'd like you to be after a few runs with it. Matter is a master manipulator - meaning he's using programs that look promising NOT discussed in BP, within it's "shell". This is uber helpful to EVERYONE here, b/c provided these experiments are successful - they'll be another arrow in your quiver.

Great work Matter. I appreciate your ingenuity, hard work and constant vigilance, insofar as what's appearing on ergo-log.com... :)
Thanks for the compliments Rob, but I don't think I am doing anything special, to be honest. I thirst for knowledge like a desert thirsts for water, and this thirst is what led me to The Blueprint in the first place. Part of the reason I am looking at other templates is to see what others have to offer and what I can incorporate into The Blueprint.

I can say unequivocally this fat loss program I am on is a very good one, even though I am only halfway through it, I have dropped 16 pounds, and likely a pound or two more of fat. My measurements have gone down a little bit, but that is to be expected, although they are still pretty decent. 16" arms, 48" chest, 34" waist. Stomach is almost completely flat, 3rd set of abs is starting to come out, and I have been getting a lot of people telling me how I look like I am losing weight. My face is getting really thinned out as well, which is probably the first thing I noticed.

After this I am going to be running a program by Ben Pakulski called Mass Intentions or MI40. He just took 4th place in the Arnold Classic a few weeks ago, so I am excited to see what this will do for me. It is an extremely intense program so I likely could only run this twice a year(40 straight days of lifting or cardio, including many that are split workouts--morning/night..no off days), so I am planning to basically run this in Mid-May, run the BP from July-December(starting with a custom plan), then run another Mass Intentions run in January, then run a Fat Loss Forever run starting in Mid-February.

Why am I doing this? Honestly a big reason is because I enjoy mixing things up. In no way, does this signify I am unhappy with the BP. In fact, just the opposite, I am going to be running it for 5 months straight, and expect to see some crazy gains. However, this time I am going to be extremely focused on gaining ONLY lean body mass, staying within 1-2% of my cutting body fat percentage, which will make my next cut that much easier. I think I got a little overzealous with my calorie count last time, and while gained a ton of muscle, I probably gained some fat too.

Something that I have learned already that will help me is I do very well when I keep carbs and fats away from each other at pretty much all times. Protein + Fat is fine and so is Protein + Carbs. Carbs + Fat leads to me storing fat(insulin is a storage hormone, and in this case it stores fat as fat). Just how my body works, and likely most endomorphic types as well. Another thing is to eat carbs late at night or post workout only, when they will do the most good. Carbs are not my enemy per se, but they definitely are not my friend. I need them, but have to be careful what type I eat(brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and beans are pretty much the only ones I eat now) and when I eat them. I literally drink Olive Oil as my fat source. I would definitely recommend you putting something in future BP programs, or even stickying something regarding the Carbs+Fat issue for endomorphs. This could help a LOT of us lose fat a lot quicker...I have begun to realize that losing weight is not a function of what I do so much as it is a function of what I eat. Milk, breads, pastas, white rice, cereals, etc cause me to keep weight on. Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Sweet Potatoes and Beans cause me to lose weight almost effortlessly.

Just am excited to take the knowledge I am getting from these other programs and incorporate them into the BP...I am probably going to be astounded with the results...

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:57 pm
by matter2003
Rest day yesterday, and got some lab results that I wasn't to happy with. Found out I have an underactive thyroid, which is not all that surprising as it runs in my family on my mother's side(mom, aunt and grandmother all had the issue). TSH to Free T4 ratio was 2.64, whereas anything over 1.5 is considered underactive...I have had a sneaking suspicion this might be the case as I have had some symptoms like tiredness and lethargy at times, especially at night as well as dry skin, hair loss and brittle nails...also just read an article that psoriasis is being linked to hypothyroidism:

'According to Dr. Ray Peat and others, low thyroid function is associated with many skin problems, including psoriasis. When thyroid function is low, prolactin (protein hormone of the anterior lobe of the pituitary) increases. Excess prolactin increases cell division. Sunlight is known to decrease prolactin formation, whereas darkness and stress can increase prolactin levels and this is why people who suffer from psoriasis frequently notice an improvement in their skin during the summer months'.

The rabbit hole appears to go deeper than even I thought...

After talking with Rob, I ordered Pure T2, which will help put this back to normal. Likely will make things a lot easier for me as well. Frustrated at doing everything properly but not seeing the results I should be getting, especially on the fat loss side of the equation. Don't get me wrong, 16 pounds is nothing to sneeze at in 5 weeks, but for the amount of effort, proper diet, and IF I am doing I should be farther along than I am, at least in my opinion. Remembering how I lost weight when I was 22 and started doing things properly, now seems like a complete struggle...all that is about to change for the better in about a week...

Started dosing Pregnenolone 10mg and Isatori IsaTestGF yesterday as well. Haven't really noticed anything out of the ordinary as of yet, but expect to see some changes within a week or so. Usually my face and shoulders start breaking out in acne and I start getting hyper-aggressive.

Youngest daughter has not been cooperating(14 months) the past 3 days, having woken up several times throughout the night because of being sick(started 3 nights ago with her waking up at 2am in a pile of vomit), so my sleep hasn't been on point at all. Was supposed to workout this morning, but I said "F" that and decided to go for the extra hour of sleep. Workout got pushed til 9pm after work, and it wasn't that great. Was OK I guess considering I was at 25 hours without food at that point and still probably short on sleep.

DYNAMIC II

WORKOUT SET A: Rest 15-30s between exercises/Rest 1 Min between sets
Left Leg DL/Lunge Combo: 45DB x 10 x 10 x 10
Arnold Press: 30DB x 8/35DB x 8 x 8
Right Leg DL/Lunge Combo: 45DB x 10 x 10 x 10
DB Upright Row: 35DB x 8 x 8 x 8
Pot Stirrer Plank: BW x 8ea x 8ea x 8ea
Rest 3 Mins after last set

WORKOUT SET B:Rest 15-45s between exercises/rest 90 secs between sets
Goblet Squat: 70DB x 12/80DB x 12 x 12
1 Arm DB Row: 50DB x 8ea x 8ea x 8ea
DB Fly Away: 30DB x 10 x 10 x 10
Mountain Climbers: BW x 15ea x 15ea x 15ea
Rest 2 Mins after last set

WORKOUT SET C:Rest 10s between exercises/Rest 90 secs between sets
Alt Lateral Lunge: 25DB x 12 x 12
BB Bicep Curl: 60 lbs x 10/70 lbs x 10
Push Up Plank: BW x 45s x 45s

A decent workout, was sweating like a pig by the end of it, just couldn't dial up the heavier weights tonight...didn't have it...

Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 1:57 pm
by matter2003
Gotta post my complex workout log from Friday morning...took thurs, fri night and sat off from cardio because I tweaked a groin doing lateral lunges on Wednesday ..

Woke up this morning at 189!!!! Milestone moment for me...

Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:53 pm
by dropthebeats
matter2003 wrote:
Woke up this morning at 189!!!! Milestone moment for me...
Great job! How low do you want to go? Where's you body fat at right now? Below 12?

Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:22 pm
by matter2003
dropthebeats wrote:
matter2003 wrote:
Woke up this morning at 189!!!! Milestone moment for me...
Great job! How low do you want to go? Where's you body fat at right now? Below 12?
Honestly I don't know where I am going to end up. I still have 6 more weeks left on this program, and I am about to get my thyroid right in a few days, so I am expecting the weight will start falling off a little easier...

I am mid 11s to mid 12s body fat right now. I want to get down to 8%, so I probably need to get to around 175-180 or so, which would be a good weight for me to start bulking from I think.

Also have a relatively large outbreak of acne starting on my left shoulder/trap area, so it appears the IsaTestGF and Pregnenelone are kicking in!

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:49 pm
by matter2003
A few days late posting logs, been busy and my anniversary was this weekend, so did not have much free time...

Friday morning:

COMPLEX II

WORKOUT SET A:
DB Squat: 40DB x 6/45DB x 6 x 6
DB Clean/Press: 40DB x 6/45DB x 6 x 6
Alt. Forward Lunges: 40DB x 6/45DB x 6 x 6
Upright Row: 40DB x 6/45DB x 6 x 6
Renegade Row: 40DB x 6/45DB x 6 x 6
Rest 5 Mins

WORKOUT SET B:
Romanian DL: 30DB x 12 x 12 x 12
High Pull: 30DB x 12 x 12 x 12
Step-Up: 30DB x 12 x 12 x 12
Bicep Curl: 30DB x 12 x 12 x 12
Rest 5 Mins

Ab Supersets:
From 60lbs-120lbs 10 reps each, no rest in between, then from 120lbs-60lbs same thing

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:11 pm
by matter2003
Skipped Cardio Friday night and Saturday morning, as I as dealing with a slight groin issue from the lateral lunges on Wednesday.

Sunday was cheat day and also my Density day.

DENSITY I

WORKOUT SET A:

Front Squat: 155lbs 5R x 6(4,650 lbs/30 reps)
Bent Row: 195lbs 5R x 6(5,850 lbs/30 reps)
Rest 5 Mins
Front Squat: 165lbs 5R x 5(4,125 lbs/25 reps)
Bent Row: 205lbs 5R x 5(5,125/25 reps)
Rest 5 Mins

Total Weight: 19,750 lbs(+2,250 lbs from last time)
Total Reps: 110 reps(+10 reps from last time)

WORKOUT SET B:
Reverse Lunge: 40DB 5R x 4(1,600 lbs/20 reps)
Upright Row: 80BB 5R x 4(1,600 lbs/20 reps)
Bench Press: 155lbs 5R x 4(3,100 lbs/20 reps)
Rest 5 Mins
Reverse Lunge: 40DB 5R x 4(1,600 lbs/20 reps)
Upright Row: 90BB 5R x 4(1,800 lbs/20 reps)
Bench Press: 165lbs 5R x 4(3,300 lbs/20 reps)
Rest 5 Mins

Total Weight: 13,000 lbs(-50 lbs from last time)
Total Reps: 120 reps(-5 reps from last time)

WORKOUT SET C:
Bicep Curl: 40DB 5R x 4(1,600 lbs/20 reps)
Lateral Raise: 20DB 5R x 4(800 lbs/20 reps)
Rest 2 Mins
Bicep Curl: 40DB 5R x 5(2,000 lbs/25 reps)
Lateral Raise: 20DB 5R x 5(1,000/25 reps)

Total Weight: 5,400 lbs(-225 lbs from last time)
Total Reps: 90 reps(same as last time)


Total Workout Time: 53 mins
Total Workout Weight: 38,150 lbs(+1,975 lbs from last time!)
Total Workout Reps: 320 reps(+5 reps from last time)
Total Lbs/Min: 719.81 lbs/min
Total Reps/Min: 6.04 reps/min

Well, didn't think I had that good of a workout and forgot to write down what my previous amounts were, so I thought I had done less than last time, but I ended up doing almost 2,000 more...steadily approaching 40,000 lbs on this workout, not bad!

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:21 pm
by matter2003
Had double duty today, lifting in the morning followed by cardio while in the midst of a 36 hour fast...not much fun at all...

GH SURGE I

WORKOUT SET A:
Squats: 335lbs x 20
Rest 3 Mins
-Really sucks to wake up at 6:30am and go to the gym and the first thing out of the gate is a set of heavy squats for 20 reps...

WORKOUT SET B: Raise slow 4 seconds and lower quickly/rest 10-30 secs between exercises and 90 secs between sets
Decline Press: 145lbs x 12/155lbs x 10,2 x 7,3,2
Bent Barbell Row: 205lbs x 8 x 10/185lbs x 10
Plank: BW x 60 secs x 60 secs x 60 secs
Rest 2 Mins after last set

WORKOUT SET C:Raise slow 3 secs up, lower quickly/rest 10 secs between exercises and 90 secs between sets
Lateral Raises: 17.5DB x 6, 15DB x 6/15DB x 12 x 12 x 12
DB Deadlift:70DB x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8
Rest 2 Mins after last set

WORKOUT SET D:

BW Squat: BW x 25

Nighttime SS cardio for 20 mins...

Tomorrow is more morning cardio and then I get to eat a piece of fruit and protein shake in the morning following the Warrior Diet and then eat late night...

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:43 pm
by matter2003
Weight holding at 189 lbs this morning. Following a 16/8 IF plan, hit the gym at 5pm for a Dynamic workout...

DYNAMIC I


WORKOUT SET A: rest 15-30 secs between exercises/rest 90 secs between sets
Alt. Reverse Lunge: 45DB x 8ea x 8ea
Pushup: BW x 10 x 10
Explosive Switch Row: 60DB x 12ea x 12ea
Standing Calf Raise: 595lbs x 15 x 15
Stability Ball Plank: BW x 30sec x 30sec
Rest 3 Mins after last set
-Nothing too hard here, got some serious looks from people, including a few of the trainers there when I was obliterating the calf press like I had a sack of potatoes up there...at some point I want to find out just how much I can lift because I think it could be over 1,000 pounds...

WORKOUT SET B:rest 15-45 secs/rest 90 secs between sets
Bulgarian Split Squat: 45DB x 8ea x 8ea x 8ea x 8ea
DB Push Press: 40DB x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10
Pull Down: 147.5lbs x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8
DB Romanian DL: 80DB x 12 x 12 x 12 x 12
Rest 2 mins after last set
-I freaking HATE Split Squats...they are the WORST(other than planks)!! Was sucking the hell out of the air after running through this set 4 times...DL is a killer

WORKOUT SET C: rest 10 secs between exercises/rest 90 secs between sets
Squeeze Press: 40DB x 12 x 12/45DB x 12
Zottman Curl: 20DB x 10 x 10 x 10
Garhammer Raise: BW x 15 x 15 x 15
-felt good on the squeeze presses, likely can go to 50 or 55DB next time...Zottman Curls are still rough for me when I pronate the DBs, it becomes very difficult to go down under control...

Overall, a pretty good workout...increasing weight on most of the exercises, even though my weight is dropping...

Starting to experiment with eating slightly higher carb levels on lifting days versus non-lifting days...around 115g vs. 83g..just want to see how my body reacts...

Off day tomorrow, followed by morning complexes Friday...

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:15 pm
by matter2003
Friday was a split day for me...morning complexes followed by SS cardio at night.

COMPLEX I

WORKOUT SET A: NO resting between exercises/no putting DB down/rest 90 secs between sets
High Pull: 40DB x 8 x 8 x 8
Front Squat: 40DB x 8 x 8 x 8
Overhead Press: 40DB x 8 x 8 x 8
Bent Row: 40DB x 8 x 8 x 8
Reverse Lunge: 40DB x 8 x 8 x 8
Rest 5 Mins after last set
-tried to use 45DBs on first set, but had to replace them with 40's as it was too tough to get it done...

WORKOUT SET B: No putting DB Down/no rest between exercises/rest 90 secs between sets
Floor Press: 40DB x 15 x 15
Romanian DL: 40DB x 15 x 15
Bicep Curl: 40DB x 15 x 15
Lying Tri Ext: 40DB x 15 x 15
Rest 5 Mins after last set

Ab Work: 2 Supersets
60,70,80,90,100,110,120 x 10 reps each, no rest
120,110,100,90,80,70,60 x 10 reps each, no rest

Warrior Diet followed, protein shake in the morning, followed by eating most of cals at night after 20 min cardio.

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:22 pm
by matter2003
Weighed in this morning at 188 lbs!!!!!!!!!!

Morning HIIT cardio...alternating 30 sec sprints with 30 sec slower periods eight times after a 5 min warmup, then slower cardio to burn off the fatty acids released for another 15 mins...

Followed IF 16/8, although I have to admit, I started my Easter induced cheat day a few hours early when I got home tonight.

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 1:57 pm
by tufluk
hey matter,

how did/are you finding the formula X?
started it the other week and taking it with an aromatase inhibitor? I heard its vital to do so when running DAA.

good to hear your runs going well

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:59 pm
by matter2003
tufluk wrote:hey matter,

how did/are you finding the formula X?
started it the other week and taking it with an aromatase inhibitor? I heard its vital to do so when running DAA.

good to hear your runs going well
I liked it, I have run out of it now and am currently running Isatori IsaTestGF and "The Recipe" in tandem, which seems to be doing very well also...acne exploding everywhere...shoulders, underneath nipple on my chest, legs, neck...haven't had this much acne since I was a teenager...I forgot how much fun it is to pop those mofo's...hahahaha

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 10:37 pm
by matter2003
Easter craziness the past 2 days. Went out last night to celebrate my friend's birthday, he had the VIP section of a local lounge/club and several bottles with pour spouts(Grey Goose Whipped Vanilla Vodka). There were 13-15 of us hanging out, and I actually was forced to have a shot with them. Well, not exactly forced, but all of them work out and are pretty much my size or bigger, so I was told I could either stop acting like a bitch and take a shot with them or they were going to hold me down on the couch, hold my mouth open and pour it down my throat...didn't have much of an option there...hahahaha

The crazy part began when we started grabbing every hot chick that walked by and told her she was going to do a shot and told them to open her mouth as we poured the vodka down her throat out of the bottle. It was my job to get them over there to the man I call "House" with the double bottles(I call him "house" because the dude has got to have a 60 inch chest...I thought I was freaking wide, but this dude puts me to shame), and he poured it in...I was making all kinds of crazy ass comments to them based on how well they did holding it in without spilling any of it, like "Damn! Are you always that good at swallowing?" or "You really need to work on swallowing...your boyfriend must get upset..." Most of them laughed or smiled, but we actually ended up grabbing two girls that were strippers(we didn't know it until after the whole thing and they told us). The first one was guzzling that shit and you could see her throat moving as she was swallowing at the same time...didn't spill nothing...I said "Damn girl! Are you some type of pro or something? You didn't spill a drop! Are you always this good at swallowing??" She gave me this really naughty smile and put her hand on my chest, started rubbing my pecs and whispered in my ear "maybe you should find out sometime" and then said "Here, take down my number", and gave me her phone number...

Another girl we got over there wouldn't do the shot(but her roommate did), and then the girl who wouldn't do it said "Stop acting all sexual with me" as we kept grabbing her arm, around her waist, probably her ass, and kept trying to tilt her head back as we kept putting the bottle up to her mouth...I asked her if she wanted us to talk to her about politics, religion or the weather instead of acting sexual with her...she laughed and then kept coming back over to the area we were at every 10 or 15 minutes for the rest of the night...

Today I ended up going to my friends gym even though he wasn't working out with me, because it was open til 3pm and mine only was open til 1pm(wasn't going to make it). I just crushed a Density II workout, putting up over 76,000 pounds in 53 minutes, I was freaking exhausted and then I had a run in with a psycho chick...

There were only 3 of us left at the gym as it was closing, myself, the guy working there and some girl there with a bike. As we are leaving, I still have my headphones on, the music going, and all I can think about is getting in my car and driving home cause I am freaking done in. As I am walking around my car, my one earbud falls out and I hear the girl talking. I assumed she was either on the phone or talking to the guy that worked there, as I didn't see who she was talking to because I had already passed her and my back was to her. As I get to my car door, I see her standing on the ground straddling the bike and giving me the shittiest look I have gotten in a while. She then says to me "Are you even listening to me??" I told her I had my headphones on, and then she says "You only had one of them on, I'm not stupid!!", then I told her I had no idea she was even talking to me, and she says "Yes you did, I'm not stupid!!" Then as I sat there with a stunned look on my face apparently, she says "Why are the all the cute guys I meet liars and assholes?!?" and gets on her bike and storms off before I can even say anything. WTF is that about?!?!?! Gave me a good laugh anyways...

Now onto the workout for today...

DENSITY II

WORKOUT SET A: 5 Mins/5 Mins
BB Deadlift: 205lbs 5R x 7(7,175 lbs/35 reps)
BB Push Press: 80lbs 5R X 7(2,800 lbs/35 reps)
Rest 5 Mins
BB Deadlift: 215lbs 5R x 6(6,450 lbs/30 reps)
BB Push Press: 90lbs 5R x 6(2,700 lbs/30 reps)

Workout Weight: 19,125 lbs
Workout Reps: 130 reps

WORKOUT SET B: 6 Mins/6 Mins
Pull Down: 160lbs 5R x 4(3,200 lbs/20 reps)
Goblet Squat: 90lbs 5R x 4(1,800 lbs/20 reps)
Push Up: BW 5R x 4(BW/20 reps)
Rest 5 Mins
Pull Down: 180lbs 5R x 4(3,600 lbs/20 reps)
Goblet Squat:100lbs 5R x 4(2,000 lbs/20 reps)
Push Up: BW 5R x 4(BW/20 reps)

Workout Weight: 10,600 lbs
Workout Reps: 120 reps

WORKOUT SET C: 4 Mins/5 Mins
Calf Raises: 775lbs 5R x 5(19,375 lbs/25 reps)
DB Fly: 42.5 DB 5R x 4(1,700 lbs/20 reps)
Rest 2 Mins
Calf Raises: 775lbs 5R x 6(23,250 lbs/30 reps)
DB Fly: 40DB 5R x 6(2,400 lbs/30 reps)
-Actually used a mismatched set of DBs on first set, one 40 lb and one 45 lb..wondering why one side side felt heavier until I was resting and looked and noticed they were 2 different DBs...

Workout Weight: 46,725 lbs
Workout Reps: 105 reps

Total Workout Time: 53 Mins
Total Workout Weight: 76,450 lbs!!(+2,400 lbs from last time!)
Total Workout Reps: 355 reps(same amount of reps as last time)
Total Lbs/Min: 1,442.45 Lbs/Min(+45.28 Lbs/Min!)
Total Reps/Min: 6.70 Reps/Min

Closing in on 80,000 lbs!!